'No apologies, no excuses': Rodrigo Duterte on the Philippine drug campaign
- In Reports
- 03:31 PM, Oct 28, 2024
- Myind Staff
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte staunchly supported his controversial anti-drug campaign while giving testimony on Monday at a Senate investigation of the crackdown.
The police reported that the campaign resulted in over 6,000 deaths, but human rights organisations estimate that tens of thousands of mostly impoverished men were killed by police and vigilantes, often without any evidence linking them to drugs. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating claims that the killings were part of a state-approved "crime against humanity."
"Do not question my policies because I offer no apologies, no excuses. I did what I had to do, and whether or not you believe it or not, I did it for my country," Duterte, 79, remarked in an opening statement at the public hearing. "I hate drugs, make no mistake about it." During the anti-drug campaign he launched shortly after taking office in 2016, Duterte ordered police to shoot dead suspects if officers believed their lives were in danger.
However, only nine police officers have been found guilty of killing drug suspects despite the fact that the crackdown has drawn widespread criticism and prompted an international investigation. The war on the drug has persisted under the leadership of Duterte's successor, Ferdinand Marcos despite him advocating for more emphasis on its prevention and rehabilitation. Although there is a tense relationship between the current and previous presidents, Marcos has made it clear that his government would not assist with the ICC inquiry.
"On Duterte's orders, the Philippines left the ICC in 2019, but the court has stated that it has jurisdiction over homicides that occurred prior to the pullout as well as in the southern city of Davao during Duterte's tenure as mayor, years before he was elected president. With daily stories of "children being raped, people getting killed," Duterte asserted on Monday that "drug-related crimes are on the rise again" as "the purveyors of this menace are back in business." He further said, "The Filipinos are anxious and distressed.”
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